Football

Brown Earns 27-7 Win Over Cornell For 3-0 Ivy League Start

Providence, RI -
Brown junior wide receiver Bobby Sewall (Portsmouth, Rhode Island) caught touchdown passes of 52 and 33 yards, to help the Bears extended their Ivy League record to 3-0 for the first time ever with a 27-7 victory over Cornell under gusty wind conditions at Brown Stadium. The Bears are now 4-2 overall, 3-0 in the Ivy League, while Cornell drops to 3-3, 1-2 in Ivy play.

Brown had never gotten off to a 3-0 start in 52-years of Ivy League play. The Bears have now registered wins over Harvard, Princeton and Cornell in league play.

The win also sets up next Saturday's Ivy League showdown with Penn, only other unbeaten team in the Ivy League (3-0), at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, a game that will be televised live on the VERSUS Network, starting at 12:00 noon.

After a slow start where he completed just one pass for four yards in the first quarter, senior quarterback Michael Dougherty got back on track to complete 20 of 37 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns.

"We got off to a sluggish start and were a bit tentative at the start," said Brown head coach Phil Estes. "Once Bobby Sewall, Mike Dougherty and Buddy Farnham started to make big plays we got the momentum back. The touchdown pass to Bobby over the top of the Cornell defense was a really big play."

Sewall finished the game with 11 receptions for 181 yards, including a spectacular 52-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter that game Brown the lead for good, and a 33-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter to help put the game out of reach.

With Brown clinging to a 13-7 advantage after three quarters, the fourth quarter belonged to Bears' senior runningback Dereck Knight (Pawtucket, RI), who ran for 62 of his game high 80 yards in the quarter.

Brown's defense set the tone for the game by making nine tackles for a loss and two quarterback sacks. Senior Miles Craigwell made seven solo tackles, forced a fumble and made two tackles for a loss to lead the Brown team.

Cornell got on the scoreboard first, scoring on a 16-yard pass play with 5:07 left in the first quarter to grab a 7-0 advantage.

The Bears were fortunate to end the first quarter down just 7 points after gaining just nine yards of total offense in the quarter.

Following a fourth down defensive stop at their own 19-yard line, Brown got its offense on track. The Bears drove down the field before stalling on the Big Red four yard line, but got on the scoreboard on a 21-yard field goal by senior Robert Ranney with 9:50 to go in the second quarter, pulling the Bears to within 7-3 of the Big Red.

Cornell went three-and-out and Brown had great field position at their own 48-yard line following a punt. Dougherty didn't wait long, hurling a long pass to Sewall streaking down the home sideline. Sewall took the pass in stride and dove into the end zone pylon for a 52-yard scoring play to give the Bears a 10-7 lead with 8:14 left in the quarter.

Another field goal by Ranney, this time a 22-yard boot with 3:19 left in the second quarter, the Bears extended their lead to 13-7.

After a scoreless third quarter, Brown struck first early in the fourth quarter. Brown sophomore Russell Leedy recovered a Cornell fumble at the Bears' 20-yard line with three minutes to go in the third quarter. Eight plays later, junior Buddy Farnham scored on a two-yard run to lift the Bears to a 20-7 advantage with 14:52 left in the game.

Sewall put the icing on the cake for the Bears when he hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Dougherty, adjusting to a ball that got caught up in the wind, making a quick move at the seven yard line to walk into the end zone and lift the Bears to a 27-7 lead with 9:06 remaining to play.

Craigwell wasn't the only hero of the Brown defense. Senior Jon May came through with eight total tackles and senior linebacker Steve Ziogas made six total hits and a tackle for a loss of eight yards. Senior Nkosi Still also registered six tackles as did sophomore defensive back Robert Gillett. Senior Wale Adedokun registered a sack for the Bears to go along with two tackles.